Greg Sherman endured plenty of putdowns in the last 12 to 18 months. The Avalanche general manager, to his credit, never lashed back at the many who said he had been “fleeced” in trades, that he wasn’t a “hockey guy” because he didn’t play the game and lacked management experience before succeeding Francois Giguere in 2009.

To be sure, things are not perfect with the Avs. They are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. They have let some good players get away, some for nothing in return. They have overpaid some players, underpaid others.

But when you look at the big picture, things are starting to look a lot better long term in Avalancheland, and Sherman deserves his share of the credit.

First off, did any NHL GM make better moves at the trade deadline than Sherman? By the numbers, the answer seems to be a clear no. Steve Downie had put up 10 points in eight games entering the weekend, with a plus-7. He has given the Avs some much-needed snarl up front, he’s only 24 and he’ll be a restricted free agent this summer — meaning it’ll be easy to re-sign him. It cost Kyle Quincey to get him, and he’s not a bad defenseman. But the Avs have a lot of guys who play like Quincey, but few who play like Downie.

Then there was Sherman’s trade with San Jose, in which he not only got young, developing forward Jamie McGinn but two other good-looking forward prospects — Mike Connolly and Michael Sgarbossa. McGinn has already scored four goals for Colorado, Connolly has played already for the Avs and Sgarbossa was leading the Ontario Hockey League in scoring as of last week with the Sudbury Wolves.

It cost the Avs Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi to get the three from San Jose. Winnik is a hardworking, grinding forward, but the fact is he entered the weekend without a goal in 36 consecutive games, and Galiardi already has become a healthy scratch with the Sharks. He was benched for Thursday’s game at Dallas.

If the raves from a few scouts I’ve talked to about Sgarbossa are to be believed, Sherman’s deal with the Sharks could turn out to be a big-time fleece job.

It’s a welcome change for Avs fans to hear that word in connection with Sherman doing the fleecing, but let’s take a quick peek at Sherman’s other two big deals from the previous year:

The Semyon Varlamov-for-first-and-second-round-picks deal with Washington was ripped by some big-time hockey pundits, with the majority saying it was Capitals GM George McPhee who did the fleecing. But as we stand now, Varlamov has played very well of late to help get the Avs into the playoff conversation, while Washington has floundered much of the season and appears in danger of missing the playoffs — partially because of inconsistent goaltending. Yes, the price for Varlamov was steep, but it definitely has not been any fleece job by McPhee.

The big trade with St. Louis last year? It has been painful for Avs fans to see the big numbers put up this year by Kevin Shattenkirk, and Chris Stewart is starting to get his game together after a poor first half for the Blues. Shattenkirk’s play probably does tilt the trade in the Blues’ favor so far, but Erik Johnson has played better in the last 35 games, and Jay McClement quietly has had a tremendous season with 10 goals and solid PK work. And the Avs still have 2011 11th overall pick Duncan Siemens as part of that deal.

Sherman has his team marching in the right direction now, thanks to some of what we can now call his shrewd moves.

There was never any question as to which NHL goalie would have the best hair this season. The smooth Swede has graced the cover of several fashion magazines over the years.

But there was at least some question as to whether Lundqvist could still put a top season together. No more, however, as he has been the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers’ best player so far, with a sterling .937 saves percentage and eight shutouts entering Friday. He is big (6-1, 195) but moves quickly and always seems square to the shooter.

Lundqvist, whom the Avalanche will likely see Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, has an excellent shot at setting the NHL’s all-time record saves percentage for one season, which Tim Thomas set last year with the Bruins (.938).

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.